Little Red Roxo

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2011-11-09T12:28:00.001-08:00

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NEW WEBSITE!!!

2011-02-14T18:13:00.001-08:00

Check it out!

www.alexandraroxo.com

xxx my new blog will be on the news section!

New Projects!

2010-11-30T05:07:00.000-08:00

Hello, hello...I haven't updated this in a bit since I use facebook and twitter a lot but here is a list of the projects I am working on right now. There have been a lot of awesome collaborations happening recently that have got me very excited!

F A S H I O N

Jill Lindsey Video Lookbook-Editor/DP Jeff Croghan and I are working on a video lookbook for NYC based fashion designer Jill Lindsey. She makes amazing dresses...

Vanidades Behind-the-Scenes video for October Editorial-I shot a behind the scenes video for photographer Richard Machado's October editorial shoot for Vanidades magazine. Edited by Jeff Croghan.

N A R R A T I V E F I L M
Mary Marie-Mary Marie, the feature film I made with co-writer/star Alana Kearns-Green, is begining its festival submissions. Stay tuned for news in the upcoming months. Join our facebook page here!

Bemvindo- The short film I made in May is also in the festival submission process. Hoping for good news soon!

P H O T O
Shareen Sarwar and Vintage Mavens
I just did a photo shoot with the lovely Shareen Sarwar in Miami. Shareen lives in Miami and owns Vintage Mavens, an awesome online vintage store. Stay tuned. Check out the behind the scenes photos here.

Musician and Animator Molly Allis
I recently shot the web/album photos for Molly Allis's upcoming album. We shot on Mt. Misery and it was exhilarating! Her videos and music are AMAZING! See/hear here.

Writer/Director Deborah Kampmeier
I recently shot photos for director Deborah Kampmeier's new website. She is going to be directing a new biopic on Carson McCullers who wrote "The Heart is a Lonley Hunter" and has another project called SPLIT in the works. Check out the announcement in Variety. AND if you never saw Hounddog starring Dakota Fanning, you should watch it on Netflix! I am in the church scene- see if you can spot me!

I've been taking a lot of photos lately in general which I am posting on my new tumblr page.

I'd also had some interviews/articles/reviews out this past month for Hammer to Nail and the Tribeca Blog: Claire Denis and Isabelle Huppert, Lucy Walker, and Frederick Wiseman. Its so awesome inerviewing such talented people.

I've got some exciting projects in the works that I can't reveal yet but will post very soon! And as you can see lately I've been all about the collaborations so if you have an idea send it my way.

Photos and Video for Designer Jill Lindsey

2010-10-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

I just did a shoot with designer Jill Lindsey's beautiful dresses. Check out her stuff at www.jilllindsey.com. She also has a line of knit wear at the New York store "In God we Trust."

You can see a few more pictures at www.alexandraroxo.tumblr.com. Video look book coming soon!

Found Roll of Film from February

2010-08-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

Rebel Rebel Bingo NYC

2010-08-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

Photos of Rebel Bingo hosts James Flames, Julia Stephens, and Chelsey Schartz at the Underground Rebel Bingo Club on August 6th, 2010. Digital pics here.

Featured in the NY Times Blog and NBC.

Watch "The Heart is What Remains" on Vimeo!

2010-04-13T05:27:00.000-07:00

The Heart is What Remains from Alexandra Roxo on Vimeo.

Award-winning experimental short by Writer/Director Alexandra Roxo, featuring Anna Telcs and Nko Rey. Music by Valet, Eluvium, and Dormant. The film screened in the A.I.R. Gallery Biennial in 2009, Artsfest, NJ Film Festival, Local Sightings Film Festival and more.

The Inspiring and Hilarious Michel Gondry at Lincoln Center

2010-03-30T09:04:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago Lincoln Center held a two-hour "Conversation with Michel Gondry" as part of the series "Rendezvous with French Cinema." Gondry's new film "The Thorn in my Heart" screened as a part of the series.

Gondry was a pleasure and a delight. He started the evening kind of shy and got sillier and more candid as the night went on... Gondry grew up in a family of eccentric artists which afforded him the time and energy to be creative and explore. He wanted to be either a painter or an inventor when he grew up. But since he was not totally qualified for either he decided "a camera is the perfect instrument to let me make a world where i can be the inventor." He started making music videos for his band "Oui Oui" and Bjork saw them and loved them.

He met Bjork and she took him to museums and galleries which he'd never been interested in before. When Bjork watched his videos she couldn't stop laughing....and a collaboration was in place for what would be "Human Behavior." Bjork wanted to be eaten by a white bear in the video, Gondry wanted her to be eaten by a brown wolf. (There are wolves in France, bears in Iceland...) They compromised by making a brown bear.

For the video Gondry used rear projection- which is a fave technique of his. Gondry said that many producers and filmmakers use blue screen for simple effects that can be easily created in a more realistic setting for the actor. He also said that actors feel dead in a blue screen- their work is flat and not alive.

Gondry's first feature Human Nature was a flop. After Charlie Kauffman's success writing Being John Malkovich, Gondry couldn't figure out why Human Nature did so poorly. All reviews said he was at fault and that he was a terrible director. Then when Eternal Sunshine came out critics said all his work was shit and that this one was good. Gondry said how important it was for him to go throught that as a director. He said "directors often do best at their lowest point."

He said he was angry that this film was overly hated and Eternal Sunshine was overly liked. He felt they were both valid and good films, but in a way very similar. For Human Nature Gindry storyboarded each frame and was very precise with the shooting of the film. But on Eternal Sunshine he was a little more lax and open with the shooting. A week before he called Charlie Kauffman and said "I have no idea how I am going to make this film."

The idea for Eternal Sunshine came from a contemporary artist who was friends with Gondry. This artist, Pierre Bismuth, had an idea to send postcards to people saying "Your ex has erased you from their memory. Please do not contact them again." They pitched the concept around and most people wanted it to be a thriller or a horror film, but Gondry found Kaufman willing to explore what he wanted: love and relationshsips. (Gondry said he wasnt supposed to say it was his own concept, but years have passed now...)

When Gondry was asked about his Oscar for Eternal Sunshine he said (in his cute French accent) "I would come home and it would be wearing a condom or have a broken leg, so I had to hide it." His son Paul (who was sitting a few rows behind me) laughed at this comment.

A clip was shown from Eternal Sunshine with the scene where Clementine and Joel are under the covers and she is telling a story about how she thought she was ugly growing up. After the clip Gondry smiled. "Interesting that you pick this clip because the whole scene was fabricated in post." After filming the scene Gondry was displeased. Kauffman's original dialogue was about Clementine's favorite book and Gondry thought that was too clcihed of romantic comedies. "In real life you don't talk about a favorite book in those moments. When I experience moments of intimacy I want to say something I've never said to anyone." Charlie Kauffman re-wrote the scene using 20% of the text that was filmed. The rest was re-constructed in post. (If you look closely you can see that the camera is mainly off of the characters in this scene as they are speaking.) Gondry said "you must find a creative solution to make sure the audience feels what they needs to feel."

Gondry also spoke extensively about how he got the performance he wanted from Jim Carrey and how he was most interested in Carrey's performance when he yelled "Cut!" He tricked Carrey a lot by using multiple camera and making Carrey feel like the camera wasn't on him. And Gondry got what he wanted: a genuine performance from Carrey.

Gondry has devoted himself to a slew of projects in the past few years. As he has gotten older his work has included a larger community and he has made a point to bring film to a more accessible level including building sets for people to shoot in at the Deitch Projects. Read more about that here.

Hearing Gondry speak was refreshing and inspiring, especially as a young filmmaker. He is unafraid to make mistakes, take risks, and be criticized. He is also a true artist dedicated to his craft. He just directed Seth Rogen's latest script "The Green Hornet" which was Gondry's first studio film, now in post.

My Thoughts on Catherine Breillat's new film Bluebeard...

2010-03-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

Breillat is one of my all-time favorite directors. Her work has influenced me greatly as an artist and a filmmaker. So I decided to review her latest film...

Bluebeard, a French literary folk tale from the late 1600's, has been the subject of many films. In early March, the Anthology Film Archives ran a series of the Bluebeard inspired films those of directed by Méliès, Lubitsch, Lang, Ulmer, Chaplin, and Michael Powell. Catherine Breillat's depiction of the tale of Bluebeard opens at IFC Center on March 26th.

As the book is opened, the tale of Bluebeard begins; Breillat casts two little girls reading the tale. They bring an air of innocence to the story as they share their own commentary of the tale. As the suspense builds, Breillat takes the audience back to the girls reading the story. Each time, the audience hears how "scared" one of them is, thus, increasing the tension of the moment and what it might bring. After having seen all of Breillat's films, I was ready for the moment of catharsis. I waited, sometimes patiently, at other times impatiently, for a total of seventy-five minutes. The allusions to death, murder, and the macabre that hover over the film sustain a faux thread of tension leaving the audience with a few strikingly beautiful and a few horrific juxtaposed images. Despite the horror, the dark images stirred me only slightly, as the rest of the film fell flat.

Breillat makes a costly mistake in Bluebeard sacrificing its independence and uniqueness by never choosing a genre for the film: classic fairy tale or a true period piece. These two genres compete in the film: some moments committing to the characters and the period, and others falling flat with plastic rhinestone covered "medieval" books and shoddy camera tricks. The characters lack depth as mere caricatures in the time old tale. However, due to its unilateral perspective, the story lacks an igniting spark, and the old fairy tale of Bluebeard is flattened to a boring story fit for daytime television (in Europe?).

Best known for her controversial approach to female sexuality, Breillat has explored this theme in films such as Romance, Anatomy of Hell, A Real Young Girl, and Fat Girl. The brilliant Breillat molds the lense through which she views with an original and honest voice. As a female viewer, I have traveled to both ends of the spectrum of her work: repeatedly angered and then completely awed by the accuracy of depiction of the complexities of the female psyche, even in their ugliest forms. In the film Fat Girl, the audience is carried along through a beautifully crafted story, only to be ultimately punched in the stomach. The rich characters and their choices captivate us so beautifully to the climax, while an ending overture makes the film brilliant and poignant.

Breillat declines to seize the many opportunities in Bluebeard to make the piece provocative or go beyond the PG-rated rale, as she ignores the marriage of Bluebeard and his teen wife. The sexual tension between the two is dumbed down to a weak platonic love.

Breillat’s first film A Real Young Girl (1975) showed the inner workings of a teen girl's sexuality. The main character’s budding sexuality, the slippery slope between her childlike innocence and brazen desire, and sadist fantasies made a fiery and true film. Over the years, Breillat's films have progressed in production value, cast, etc., therefore, I had high expectations for her latest piece. Disappointed, I hope it will call viewers to her previous groundbreaking and controversial works on female sexuality, and not deter people from seeing her other films.

Breillat's new film, Bad Love, (based on a novel written by her) is in pre-production. Naomi Campbell may star in "Bad Love" as a filmmaker who meets a man at a festival and falls into a destructive love affair. My fingers are crossed that Breillat will again return to the brilliance of her previous films.

Note:

This review was originally going to be posted on one of two film blogs but because I had negative reactions to the film they weren't too keen to post. Because Breillat is one of my favorite directors I had to be honest with my reactions to the film. However I believe artists go through many phases so just because this film didn't resonate with me doesn't mean I have lost faith!

Mary Marie's Alana Kearns-Green at Fusion Fest Saturday Feb. 27th!

2010-02-23T08:35:00.000-08:00

Mary Marie's co-writer/producer/star Alana Kearns-Green will be speaking on the "Double Threats" panel at NYU's Fusion Film Festival on Saturday February 27th at 5 pm at NYU's Tisch: 721 Broadway building, Theater 006.

This panel features many multi-hyphenates: actor-writers, director-producers, writer-directors and so on. It seems some ladies can really do it all.Other panelists include Paola Mendoza, Jennifer Grausman, and Lena Dunham.

Follow Mary Marie on Facebook and Twitter to hear what the panelists are saying, see pics, and watch video of the panel!

Brian Newman's Master Class on Audience Building at DCTV

2010-02-23T06:26:00.000-08:00

Last night Brian Newman conducted a class at DCTV on Audience Building.

Brian Newman is the founder of sub-genre consulting, helping filmmakers and organizations to distribute content and connect with audiences through innovative uses of new technology. Brian was most recently CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute, and has been the executive director of Renew Media and IMAGE Film & Video Center. He speaks regularly on new media, audience development and the future of the industry, and contributes to a blog on these subjects at Springboardmedia.

Below is a slideshow of his presentation!

Shooting People Engage101

View more presentations from Brian Newman.

Great Advice from Paola Mendoza and Gloria La Morte, Directors of Entre Nos

2010-02-17T06:01:00.000-08:00

Tribeca All Access had a case study of Paola Mendoza and Gloria La Morte's feature film Entre Nos and a panel which included Paola and Gloria. Gloria and Paola wrote "Entre Nos" together and the film won a camera package grant from IFP before going into production and then screening around the world.

"Entre Nos" is the story of Paola's mother's journey as an immigrant with two kids in New York City. In the clips shown at the case study Paola's performance is stunning and profound. Gloria and Paola seem to be a fearless duo. Here is some advice they gave that I found super helpful and inspiring for filmmakers...

Paola:

Your first draft will suck. But it doesn't have to be good or need to be good. You just have to do it.
Believing in onself takes a lifetime. You can have one good screening and feel great and then someone says you suck. But if this is what your happiest doing than you have to get over it. And whether people like your films or not, you can't really care. Even if I don't get paid for 3 years I will continue because the stories need to be told.
We need support. I have an amazing boyfriend. I say sometimes please tell me I'm good and ok. We need to hear that stuff over and over. We need good cheerleaders.

Gloria:

Are you going to give into the fear or go for it? Change the fear into excitement.
It's easy to be insecure no matter how many films you've made. You think "Can I really write again? Direct again?"

Paola told a story about how they had shown their film to someone in the film community who they trusted and that person said "Have you thought about turning this into a short?" Thank goodness they didn't take that advice! "Entre Nos" premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival 2009 and has played all around the world winning awards and scoring a VOD deal and a limited theatrical release this May.

Thanks Paola and Gloria!

Cast and Crew Call!

2010-02-12T08:46:00.000-08:00

The Domani Vision Society and Visionfest have chosen 5 directors to make short films for the FivexFive New York State of Mind Digital Project. Directors include: Ari Taub, Alexandra Roxo, Elizabeth Van Meter, Debra Eisenstadt, and Nyle Cavazos Garcia. Mark Doyle will serve as Supervising Producer to the projects. The films will have their world premieres in New York City on June 27, 2010 at the Tribeca Cinemas as part of Visionfest 2010. Each film will be five minutes long, take place in NYC, and each director will have to direct actors of the opposite sex.

We are currently accepting resumes for all crew positions!

Please email alexandra.roxo@gmail.com with resumes, reels, etc.

It's going to be a 2 day shoot in late April here in New York City. And you will able to see the fruits of your labor in June at Visionfest with lots of fun parties and screenings.

My Valentine's Day Suggestion for Film Lovers...

2010-02-10T06:01:00.000-08:00

BAM Brooklyn is doing a dinner and a movie special on Valentine's Day with the 1934 classic "It Happened One Night."

I wrote a little somethin' about it for Tribeca Film. Check it out here!

Latest Articles for Tribeca Film!

2010-02-08T16:39:00.000-08:00

I have had some fun articles on Tribeca Film's blog including one on Werner Herzog's film "My Son My Son What Have Ye Done" and also "Masquerades" by Lyes Salem.

Read the Herzog article here.

Read the "Masquerades" article here.

Sign up to be on Tribeca Film's mailing list and get my articles sent to you in their newsletter!

My First Article for the Tribeca Film Blog!

2009-11-18T08:26:00.000-08:00

My first article for the Tribeca Film Blog is live. The article is about an indie film called "You Won't Miss Me" by Ry Russo-Young and Stella Schnabel. I am hoping to begin a series on women in film for their blog. The film is screening this week at MoMa.

Read the article HERE.

"The Heart is What Remains" wins "Best Short Film" at the Local Sightings Film Festival!

2009-10-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

The two actors from the film Anna Telcs and Nick Rey before the festival.

Prizes for "Best Short Film" included a bottle of wine wrapped in some of Guy Maddin's film footage and $500!

"A visceral experience; evocative, uncompromising and ambitious, a film that achieves every artistic goal it attempts...and there are many."
-Juror Barry Jenkins (Director of "Medicine for Melancholy")

"The Heart is What Remains" at the Local Sightings Film Festival

2009-10-02T23:52:00.000-07:00

My short film "The Heart is What Remains" is playing as part of the Local Sightings Film Festival in Seattle, WA on October 6 at 9 pm.

Northwest Film Forum is located at 1515 12th Ave in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, on 12th Avenue between Pike & Pine Street.

Article about "Mary Marie" in newspaper

2009-09-17T10:31:00.000-07:00

Independent movie makers film in Beavertown
By Megan Angstadt, September 17, 2009

Alana Kearns-Green, 24, of Los Angeles, sat with her legs tucked under her on a worn, but comfortable brown couch in her family’s home in Beavertown. She carefully sipped from a glass of water in between breaths as she described her most recent artistic endeavor, the independent film “Mary Marie.” Kearns-Green, along with a crew of 14, recently wrapped up filming “Mary Marie,” in the very same house she was born in, located at 325 W. Market St. in Beavertown.

Even though she has traveled a great deal throughout her life — growing up in Harrisburg, attending high school in California, and graduating from New York University with a degree in drama — something about the house she was born in, and the surrounding area, drew her back here when the idea of the film surfaced.

“Alexandra Roxo, the director, came up with the initial idea,” Kearns-Green said. “We wanted to make a story that was close to our hearts, so we both ventured into writing it. It took about a month and a half of serious writing to finish.”

Roxo and Kearns-Green wanted to find a location that would work logistically, with resources easy to access, and a place that meant something to both of them. Kearns-Green suggested her family home in Beavertown — owned by her grandfather Richard Kearns and occupied by her uncle, Carlos Kearns — and filming began shortly thereafter.

“Mary Marie” is a story about two sisters — played by Kearns-Green and Roxo — and their coming of age after the death of their mother. “It’s an intriguing triangle,” Kearns-Green said, of the unexpected visitor, played by Tim Linden, who comes between the sisters during their summer in their mother’s house. “They have to re-evaluate the meaning of each others’ relationship to be able to heal.”
And then “it really grew without us realizing it,” Kearns-Green said. “We became mini celebrities in the town ... there’s been a lot of support, luckily.” Filming took just 18 days throughout the month of July, with the project funded along the way by private investors, family, and friends who believe in the film, “We basically raised the money ourselves,” Kearns-Green said. “There have been obstacles along the way, but overall, it’s been a surprisingly smooth shoot.”

The finished product will indeed be quite an accomplishment, as most people in the film industry told the crew that “Mary Marie” would be impossible to make on their extremely low budget.
For the residents of Beavertown, the filming caused quite a stir in the otherwise quiet town. “There was a buzz for sure,” Kearns-Green said. “People would pull over on the side of the road, or stop on the sidewalk and take pictures.” When the crew had lights set up at night, the number of spectators grew, but eventually the residents of Beavertown grew used to the commotion. “We would order lunch from Rayauda’s in Beaver Springs almost every day, so people got used to seeing us around,” she said.
With filming complete, the next step is editing, which will take approximately eight weeks. “We’d like to get it out there as soon as possible, for the independent film festival deadlines,” Kearns-Green said. The finished film is expected to run between 80-90 minutes.

“I talked to Bill Wagner, the mayor, and he’s very excited about the film. He mentioned a screening in Beavertown,” she said, “I’m sure it will happen.”

“Mary Marie” is the first feature film Kearns-Green has helped write, produce and act in. In addition to being director, co-author and co-actor, Roxo also co-produced the film with Rachel Earnest. Actor Tim Linden was also production designer and cinematography was handled by Magela Crosignani.
Because of the small size of the crew (14 members), everyone had to fill various roles during production, an aspect Kearns-Green enjoyed very much. “I’d always wanted to be more a part of the game, more hands-on in all aspects of production,” she said. “We were all dumbfounded at the end, that it had actually happened. It’s chaos, but it’s great.”

Alana Kearns-Green comes home to Beavertown to film the movie, “Mary Marie.” The title was carved into the bark of a tree that was planted when her family home was built.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.

Interview with Alexandra in THE PICTURES: London Underground Film Zine

2009-09-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

Article about Alexandra Roxo's film work:

The term ‘psychodrama’ was often used in the 1940s to describe the films of Maya Deren – films in which a single protagonist travels through the film’s often surreal space as if in a dream, everything around them an extension of their consciousness, loaded with symbolism, weight and unsettling significance. While Deren’s ideas have been appropriated by everyone from student filmmakers to David Lynch, and have in themselves become a common (and often poorly thought out) part of film grammar, it is rare to find a modern day filmmaker who uses these techniques in such a pure, stripped down form and with such emotiveness that they feel fresh and moving and every bit as effective as a film by Maya Deren herself.

Alexandra Roxo has made two films in this vein – Out Of The Blue and The Heart Is What Remains. Both are exquisitely shot on Super-8, foregrounding all the grain and texture of film, and both are soundtracked by gorgeous minimal electronica. In both films a young woman finds herself in a picturesque graveyard and wanders in a state of captive trance, negotiating resonant obstacles and evocative traps in a bid for freedom. Horror is never far beneath the surface.

Out Of The Blue is the earlier of the two. Our heroine is bound to trees in a spider web as the blue filtered film throbs gently, slightly over exposed so that white creeps in from the edge of the frame. She frees herself and rushes, frantic, across the graveyard, stopping and weeping at the feet of an angelic statue. On the statue’s plinth she finds her prize, a pomegranite, which she takes, disrobing before biting into the fruit – an almost pastoral naturalism is a feature of both of Alexandra’s films to date. Red juice from the fruit’s flesh drips onto her body like blood and she rubs it, newly sexualised, wonder in her expression. The film begins to flash abstract and red, and our heroine has moved to another stage.

The Heart Is What Remains revisits some of the themes of Out Of The Blue, but with added depths and turns, and the addition of a lover to our heroine character. Both the film and characters are more mature. The story here is of a serious relationship, starting out in rich, warm colour. From a sleeping beauty kiss in a graveyard, the lovers begin to share their lives, bodies framed spooning nude. Dark imperfections creep in, the music becomes tense. The two sit opposite eachother at a table, bursting eggs with one hand and filling cups to overflowing with greasy yolk. Crockery is smashed. Our heroine drags a plastic bag from their house, her boyfriend’s body inside. Demonstrating Alexandra’s history in the theatre, the woman’s movements are specific and precise, nervous and almost choreographed, yet not quite in control - entranced. From here on she’s alone, cutting out his heart and taking it to the beach. In what might be a direct reference to Deren’s At Land, we see a closeup of her bare foot on the sand. She burns the heart, and others she’s collected. She walks slowly out to the panoramic sea which seagulls circle above.

The other definition of psychodrama, the psychiatrist’s term, is the use of roleplaying and immersive dramatism to resolve an issue, to reach a point of understanding. The amount of emotional investment in Alexandra’s films, and the complexities revealed by the most humble symbols, ensure that this is as true for the audience as the characters within and, you suspect, for the filmmaker. These are the most personal of films, all the more affecting for it, and well worthy of the best of the tradition.

THE PICTURES: What drew you to filmmaking and, particularly, to making films for yourself (as opposed to say working in a studio)? Were there any particular influences or inspirations?

ALEXANDRA: Having originally gone to school for acting, I decided after classical theatre studies that I wanted to create my own work. From there, I wrote two plays, “Reading Between The Lives: A Thousand Lonely Liberations” and “This Little Light Of Mine”, and directed one of them. As much as I love the theatre, I felt I needed to move into filmmaking because of its proximity to people and popular culture. Before picking up a motion picture camera, however, I decided I needed to work on photography for a few years. After developing a visual style, I spontaneously borrowed a Super 8 camera and went from there.

TP: Practically speaking, what’s your filmmaking process And once they’re finished, how do you go about putting them out there so an audience can see them?

AR: My films either start with a simple image or an idea and go from there. “Out Of The Blue” was completely spontaneous, and shot linearly with no editing. “The Heart Is What Remains” involved more preparation but no script. I had an idea and with the help of friends pulled it together. Since I shot the film I felt it essential that I storyboard for myself which was very helpful on set. On the feature I directed my process took a whole new direction as I was acting in almost every scene. Luckily for me, we had a monitor so I could play back the scenes. The only way I was able to handle acting and directing was due to the work that DP Magela Crosignani and myself had done as we spent a lot of time preparing before shooting the film so she knew exactly what I wanted.

I submit my films to carefully selected festivals and galleries which seem like they would be a good fit for my films. Festival submissions are very expensive and time consuming, so I‘ve had to pick the ones that suit my work the most.

TP: What do you like about working with Super 8? Would you ever consider video or another medium?

AR: I love working with Super 8. It has a texture and simplicity that allows a lot of spontaneity during shooting. I first picked up Super 8 because I knew it was user friendly and wouldn’t require an AC or anyone but myself. I had never worked with video until a month ago when I started shooting my first feature film. I would have loved to shoot it on film, but due to budget constraints I shot it on HD with film lenses, and I am quite pleased with the look. However, I look forward to the day I can make a feature film on film!

TP: The music in your films is lovely. Who makes it, and how important a part of film do you think music is?

AR: Up to this point the music in my films has been made by colleagues of mine. I am very fortunate to have many friends who are talented musically. The music in my film “Out Of The Blue” was made by my friend who goes by the name Poison Ring. He loops old tapes and records and comes up with the most amazing sounds. The music in “The Heart Is What Remains” was made by three different music projects: Dormant, Valet and Eluvium. All the music I use is an integral part of the film, the film and the music really become one unit in the end that I can’t separate.

TP: What are you working on next? Where would you hope to be in maybe 5 years time?

AR: Having just finished my first narrative film, a feature called “Mary Marie”, which I co-wrote, directed, and acted in, was a leap for me coming from more experimental work. In 5 years time I hope to have directed at least one or two other feature films that have shown around the world. I also enjoy working on my colleagues projects, and hope to have produced some of their films as well.

www.alexandraroxo.com

Buy a copy of the zine here:
http://www.roughtrade.com/site/shop_results.lasso?search_type=advanced&search_terms=zine

Feature film "Mary Marie" currently in post production!

2009-09-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

New feature film "Mary Marie" in post production!

Directed by Alexandra Roxo, written by Alana Kearns-Green and Alexandra Roxo, produced by Rachel Earnest, cinematography by Magela Crosignani, production design by Tim Linden.

Website and trailer coming soon!

"The Heart is What Remains" at Indie Fest USA

2009-06-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

The Heart is What Remains will be playing at Indie Fest USA at the Disney Resort in an AMC theatre.

Monday August 24th, 2:00 pm
1565 Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, CA 92802

"The Heart is What Remains" at Visionfest

2009-06-24T04:56:00.000-07:00

Visionfest was a success! The screening of the shorts block was sold out, as was the previous night. After the shorts block there was an awesome Q&A and party.

"The Heart is What Remains" at Visionfest

2009-05-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

The Heart is What Remains will be screening at VISIONFEST NY at the Tribeca Cinemas on June 18, 2009 at 9:15 pm.

Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick Street
New York, NY 10013

"Out of the Blue" in Edinburgh

2009-05-26T05:29:00.000-07:00

Out of the Blue will be screening on May 31, 2009 at The Pictures Underground Film Club Edinburgh.

The Bowery in Edinburgh, Scotland at the Roxy Arthouse, 2 Roxburgh Place, from 5-11 pm.

"The Heart is What Remains" at the Portland Underground Film Festival

2009-05-20T06:32:00.000-07:00

The Heart is What Remains will play at the Portland Underground Film Festival, June 13, 2009 at 8:00 pm. The film features music by two Portland bands: Valet and Eluvium.

The Clinton Street Theater
2522 SE Clinton St., Portland, OR 97202

"The Heart is What Remains" & "Out of the Blue" at Artsfest Film Festival

2009-05-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

Artsfest Film Festival

Out of the Blue: Sunday, MAY 24, 2009, 2:00 pm

The Heart is What Remains: Saturday May 23rd, 2009, 3:00 pm

at STAGE TWO in Harrisburg's Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts
222 Market St. Harrisburg

The Heart is What Remains &Out of the Blue at NewFilmMakers Summer Series in NYC

2009-05-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

The Heart is What Remains: August 4th, 2009, 6:00 pm.
NewFilmmakers presents two features and many shorts from Brooklyn.

Out of the Blue: September 1st, 2009, 6:00 pm.
NewFilmmakers celebrates filmmaking and acting.

Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10003

"Out of the Blue" in London

2009-04-14T05:34:00.000-07:00

Wednesday April 15th!

- Excellent shorts by Timothy Cooper, Jack Barraglough, Garry Sykes, Paul Fuller and
Out of the Blue by Alexandra Roxo!

- Exclusive screening of Joe Swanberg's mumblecore masterpiece,
Kissing On The Mouth!

"Out of the Blue" at the Female Eye Film Festival

2009-03-27T07:40:00.001-07:00

Out of the Blue will be screening Sunday March 29th in the "USA Shorts Program" at the Rainbow Cinemas-Market Square at 11 am followed by a Q&A in Toronto at the Female Eye Film Festival. It is nominated for "Best Experimental." More info here.

Special Event at A.I.R. Gallery

2009-03-20T04:58:00.000-07:00

* Image from my film "The Heart is What Remains"

A.I.R. Gallery Celebrates

Women in the Arts in March 2009

Night A.I.R.

Thursday, March 26, 6pm – 8:30 pm

Special screening of new video work by women artists, curated by Lilly Wei

in conjunction with Furthermore, The A.I.R. 8th Biennial

works by Meredith Drum • Katja Loher • Alexandra Roxo • Julia Kim Smith

Refreshments & appetizers from local eateries | exciting Raffle prizes | $20 with RSVP by March 19 | $25 at the door

raffle prizes include fine art books and catalogues, photographic services, tango lessons, dinners for two at local restaurants, gift certificates, theater tickets, fitness classes and more!

Proceeds benefit the A.I.R. Fellowship Program for Emerging and Under-represented Women Artists

A.I.R. Gallery

111 Front Street, #228 Brooklyn

Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Sunday 11am - 6pm

212-255-6651

www.airgallery.org

"The Heart is What Remains" in London

2009-03-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

"The Heart is What Remains" will be screening Wednesday March 18th at Barden's Boudoir in London.

A.I.R. Gallery Biennial

2009-02-28T06:57:00.000-08:00

Furthermore, The A.I.R. Gallery 8th Biennial

Curated by Lilly Wei

at A.I.R. Gallery
111 Front St. #228
Brooklyn, NY 11201

March 4 - 29, 2009

Opening Reception: Thursday March 5th, 6-8pm

Works by: Emily Barletta, Beth Blinebury, Kate Carr, Alyssa Casey, Pauline Chernichaw,Enid Crow,Rose Frances DeSiano, Taiga Ermansons, Rebecca Finley, Karla Hackenmiller, Einat Imber,Tal Jabotinsky, Hye-na Jeong, Naomi Kaly, Monica Kane, Mung Lar Lam, Victoria Latunski,Mari Marks, Kyoko Masutani, Meredith Miller, Eti Naor, Yoonhye Park, Alyson, Provax, Alexandra Roxo, Annette Rusin, Heather Saunders, Laurie Schorr, Maki Teshima,Cara Turett, Yi-Hsin Tzeng, Jill Vasileff, Anneliesa Vobis, Elizabeth White and Anat Zalk

"Out of the Blue" Wins "Best Experimental" in NJ

2009-02-22T15:11:00.000-08:00

My short film "Out of the Blue" won "Best Experimental" at the NJ Film Festival's US Super 8 mm + Digital Video Festival at Rutgers University this past weekend. For more info. check out www.njfilmfest.com.

"The Heart is What Remains" & "Out of the Blue" at Shriveled Eyeballs Video Festival

2009-02-18T19:15:00.000-08:00

Shriveled Eyeballs Video Festival

Friday, February 27 - Sunday, March 1

+ Surprise Performances

Sunday, March 1

Bella Vitale Studio and Gallery
5917 Airport Way S (Georgetown)

*above Jules Maes Saloon*
DOORS 6PM

Donation: $3 and up

with cash wine bar
to benefit the Cascade People's Center

presented by Blue Tape Gallery

"The Heart is What Remains" &"Out of the Blue" at NJ Film Festival

2009-02-03T06:57:00.000-08:00

"Out of the Blue" and "The Heart is What Remains," were selected as two of the twenty-two finalists in the festival.

All screenings will take place on February 20+21, 2009 beginning at 7PM, in Scott Hall #123 (43 College Avenue - near the Corner of Hamilton Street and College Avenue) on the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.A.

See screening schedule here.

Valet's Music in "Coraline" and "The Heart is What Remains"

2009-01-30T22:20:00.000-08:00

Honey Owens, of Portland based band Valet, has created an original score for the new "Coraline" trailer. Valet's music is featured in my latest film "The Heart is What Remains." Also Dakota Fanning (who I worked with on Hounddog) plays the lead character's voice.

Hear Valet's music for the trailer here.

Visit http://www.coraline.com In theatres February 6th! From the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas. Based on the award-winning childrens book by Neil Gaiman. A fairytale nightmare handmade in 3D. Featuring the voices of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman and Ian McShane.

2009-01-21T20:37:00.000-08:00

Some of my film work has been accepted to the A.I.R. Biennial! A.I.R. is a gallery that has served as an inspiration for me for years. Some of my favorite artists have shown at A.I.R. and the gallery has been integral to women's art in the USA. More info here.

The juror for this competition is a highly respected curator, critic and writer.

More on Lily Wei:
Lilly Wei is a New York-based independent curator, essayist and critic who writes for Art In America and is a contributing editor at ARTnews and Art Asia Pacific.

"A.I.R. stands as proof of some of the early women's art movement's most important goals within the art world. It has been a room of our own where everyone is welcome."

- Lucy R. Lippard

November 1996

2009-01-13T19:40:00.000-08:00

Photos by Alexandra Roxo. Starring Alana Kearns-Green.
Harrisburg, PA, January 2009.

"The Heart is What Remains" Preview Screening

2008-12-15T10:49:00.000-08:00

Thanks to those of you who attended the preview screening of my latest short The Heart is What Remains. I had everyone write comments on cards after the screening.

Here are my favorites: (I've left the names out for privacy purposes.)

"The initial symbolism is utterly submerged by the tragedy of so many hearts, shriveled and neglected. Rather than envisioning itself as a vehicle of esoteric knowledge, the film surprises and overwhelms us with a singular image, powerful and striking in its primacy, and poignancy."

"Alexandra has a way of placing us in her dreamy world where only her brain and heart exist. I love it."

"The element I enjoy most about your work is how much the female voice comes through. It beats you in the face and at times makes you very uncomfortable. Thank you."

"Very thought provoking. Disturbing in a way that makes you ponder the deeper issues happening in life. The undertones are so political, sexual, violent that it is beautiful in an ethereal, infinite way."

"You've made an urban fairytale: surreal dream imagery, beautiful colors. Somnambulistic!"

Free Sheep Foundation Film Installation

2008-12-14T21:15:00.000-08:00

Nightly installation on the storefront of the Free Sheep Foundation, 2400 3rd Ave, Seattle, WA showing from December 12-December 30 2008, sundown to midnight.

Fragments from The Heart is What Remains, a film by Alexandra Roxo.

An excerpt from the film The Heart is What Remains: written and directed by Alexandra Roxo. An interpretation of the phases of love through symbols, sounds, and the re-contextualization of elements of a common fable.

Little Red Roxo

Test

NEW WEBSITE!!!

New Projects!

Photos and Video for Designer Jill Lindsey

Found Roll of Film from February

Rebel Rebel Bingo NYC

Watch "The Heart is What Remains" on Vimeo!

The Inspiring and Hilarious Michel Gondry at Lincoln Center

My Thoughts on Catherine Breillat's new film Bluebeard...

Mary Marie's Alana Kearns-Green at Fusion Fest Saturday Feb. 27th!

Brian Newman's Master Class on Audience Building at DCTV

Great Advice from Paola Mendoza and Gloria La Morte, Directors of Entre Nos

Cast and Crew Call!

My Valentine's Day Suggestion for Film Lovers...

Latest Articles for Tribeca Film!

My First Article for the Tribeca Film Blog!

"The Heart is What Remains" wins "Best Short Film" at the Local Sightings Film Festival!

Prizes for "Best Short Film" included a bottle of wine wrapped in some of Guy Maddin's film footage and $500!

"A visceral experience; evocative, uncompromising and ambitious, a film that achieves every artistic goal it attempts...and there are many." -Juror Barry Jenkins (Director of "Medicine for Melancholy")

"The Heart is What Remains" at the Local Sightings Film Festival

Article about "Mary Marie" in newspaper

Interview with Alexandra in THE PICTURES: London Underground Film Zine

Feature film "Mary Marie" currently in post production!

"The Heart is What Remains" at Indie Fest USA

"The Heart is What Remains" at Visionfest

"The Heart is What Remains" at Visionfest

"Out of the Blue" in Edinburgh

"The Heart is What Remains" at the Portland Underground Film Festival

"The Heart is What Remains" & "Out of the Blue" at Artsfest Film Festival

The Heart is What Remains &Out of the Blue at NewFilmMakers Summer Series in NYC

"Out of the Blue" in London

"Out of the Blue" at the Female Eye Film Festival

Special Event at A.I.R. Gallery

"The Heart is What Remains" in London

A.I.R. Gallery Biennial

"Out of the Blue" Wins "Best Experimental" in NJ

"The Heart is What Remains" & "Out of the Blue" at Shriveled Eyeballs Video Festival

"The Heart is What Remains" &"Out of the Blue" at NJ Film Festival

See screening schedule here.

Valet's Music in "Coraline" and "The Heart is What Remains"

"The Heart is What Remains" Preview Screening

Free Sheep Foundation Film Installation

"A visceral experience; evocative, uncompromising and ambitious, a film that achieves every artistic goal it attempts...and there are many."
-Juror Barry Jenkins (Director of "Medicine for Melancholy")